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Beauty from the Broken

Sometimes when I’m doing something good, such as sacrificing my time to help someone out or giving a gift or sending an unanticipated encouragement to a friend, I have this odd feeling.

It’s never enough.

Why do I feel like I’m not doing enough? Why is that my automatic thought? There must be something in me that still thinks I have to do enough good things to cancel out the bad things, to rectify all my selfish choices that appear to be way more plentiful than the sacrificial or kind ones.

Today I was reminded, after I had this nagging thought on my way to do something kind for someone, that one person matters. I don’t have to save the whole world. I am one person—sometimes all I can do at a given time is help one other person not feel lonely. Or know that someone cares. Or know that they’re loved.

So, this feeling. Is it really that I’m not doing enough, or is it that I’m not enough?

Let that settle for a while.

I give and give, believing and hoping all the while that it will bring me satisfaction because this is what I was born for, right? To show God’s love to the world. And yet it’s not enough. And so I am restless. Worn out. And my passion begins to wane.

I think when we come to terms with the reality that we will never be enough, that’s when we can truly be free. That’s when we realize that in Jesus Christ, we are enough. And that is enough.

So, whether you’re an artist or a business person or a stay at home mom, I hope my words can somehow encourage you to celebrate every moment you choose to put someone else before yourself. In each of these little choices, you are becoming more like Jesus. And you are getting closer to his heart. When you’re helping one person, don’t feel guilty for not helping more. That one person’s world could be changed forever because of one unselfish choice you made. It matters to them.

If one person reads this post and is encouraged, it was worth it for me to stay up and write it when I had planned on going to bed earlier and getting some much needed rest. For all you artists and creators out there, keep creating. Listen to those promptings in your heart. Even if only one person ever reads or sees or hears what you create.

It could make all the difference in the world for them. And that’s enough.